Excavating/Site Work Tips?

[macahs]

Hi all,

My other post was regarding a machine big enough for a small contractor looking to do site work but small enough to trailer w/ their own 1 ton truck. I received some great feedback and now was hoping to pick some brains for those who do site work/excavation.

My husband is looking to start doing his own site work (slabs for garages, etc) and has done some informal excavating but obviously a paying customer is different. I am wondering if anyone could offer some good advice, any 'tricks of the trade'? I know prob the first tip would be to call Dig Safe. =)

Even a basic step by step run down of the standard 'site work' for a slab would be really helpful. One guy locally uses sand as opposed to gravel when putting in a slab, which I'd be curious to know what everyone's opinion of that is.

Thanks again!

 

[dummy]

Local building codes help determine some of the standards. What type of pour, who's doing the framing, pouring, etc. Building sand can be used as compactable fill. Brand new to the business, might consider trying get an association with another contractor to gain some experience. Joining the local businessmen's association might be helpful also. Where are you planning on doing business?

 

[macahs]

Excellent ideas, thanks! My husband's business is in NH. He has an excellent reputation as a very honest and "methodical" contractor. He realizes he's losing a lot of money by paying someone to do something he knows he is very capable of, just needs a little guidance. Again, your suggestions are great and I appreciate it!

 

[dummy]

NH, isn't that one of those rock filled places? Can make life a little less enjoyable. Association by trade might be something to seriously consider. Referral work is another term that might be used. I thought I wanted a dump truck to go along with my backhoes. After checking insurance and maintenace costs, I opted to hire out a trucking co. Now, we work almost exclusively together on projects and refer "word of mouth" jobs to each other. He and I are also associated with a concrete contractor. Same rules apply. Right now, things are working out better than I anticipated and no extra costs incurred.

 

[macahs]

Yep, the Granite State.. =)

Well, we have tried networking w/ some people but to be honest, my husband is an extremely honest, hard working person and you don't come across people like that too often. We've called a couple people we've dealt with and left messages for some jobs we thought we'd throw their way (my husband was busy but could have taken them if he wanted) and we never heard from them. This has happened a couple times. My husband just did an estimate for someone we know locally (his son is in the same 2nd grade classroom as ours). He told my husband how a contractor out of Dover, NH took his deposit and ran with it, now he has a lawyer, etc. to get it back. This garage isn't cheap either, about a 30k job. The stories go on, as I'm sure you know.

I do agree though, we need to network and we have tried but just goes to show that real decent people seem hard to come by these days. I think some of the problem is there are a million contractors in our area. Good idea to check on the insurance as well- that could make or break the whole thing.

Thanks for your input, its been helpful!

 

[BigEddy]

Check out this thread started after a job I did got interesting

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/safety/Number/530830/page/1/view/collapsed/sb/4/o//fpart/1

The thread went off topic, but some good pointers in there.

 

[macahs]

Ha, that was funny- thanks BigEddy! I just read all of it - very interesting.

 

[dummy]

Totally agree with the problems encountered. Extremely difficult to find people with the same work ethics. I've been looking for a framing crew and haven't had any luck.

 

[macahs]

Well, we all know what goes around comes around- so I figure it has to happen sometime soon that we'll find someone worthy. The other thing we've noticed- we may find someone who does good and honest work but gets greedy and thinks they can get away w/ charging significantly more after a few jobs- so you end up back at square one. =)